


Bromance and Bandaids

by dododoesthings



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Bromance, Doctor/Patient, First Aid, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 03:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29619810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dododoesthings/pseuds/dododoesthings
Summary: Asterius gets wounded in combat, and Theseus takes care of him as Asterius mulls over his feelings for the king.
Relationships: Asterius | The Minotaur & Theseus (Hades Video Game)
Kudos: 14





	Bromance and Bandaids

**Author's Note:**

> Been a while since I posted anything! More Hades fics are planned (as well as one that's a Percy Jackson crossover), as well as some more Theseus & Asterius fics.

A roar reverberated through the stadium amidst cheers and claps from the ghostly shades at the edges of their seats, watching the monstrous Minotaur sweep his axe in an arc, connecting with the Prince of the Underworld’s ribs. With a grunt, the prince retaliates with a flurry of bright blue arrows across the beast’s chest. 

“Humph, good shot.” 

After being rescued by the King of Athens, the Minotaur, now going under the name of Asterius, would spend his afterlife fighting challengers for the entertainment of old kings, soldiers, and the like. He didn’t mind much. Asterius had turned over a new leaf, mostly in thanks to his old rival. The cheers of the crowd didn’t spur him on as much as his companion, Theseus, but his dashing smile upon vanquishing yet another challenger made it all worth it. He owed everything he had to the king, and would gladly take a hit in the gut for him, or more. 

“Why, thank you, Asterius!” 

Another arrow connected to his horn, snapping it clean off. It clattered to the ground behind him. Asterius’ vision blurred as he puffed steam out of his nostrils before charging at the prince, who deftly dodged, fired a few more arrows and deftly rolled past a pillar last minute, causing the bull to crash directly into it. A whole bevy of arrows struck him in the side that nearly struck him in his vital organs. His vision cleared, and slammed his axe into the ground. 

“Enough!”

Asterius winced as he straightened his back. Theseus always said he’d look even more intimidating than he usually was if he didn’t slouch. “You fight well. I hope to see you again later, if you don’t die in the process.” Asterius turned to exit the arena, into the winding chambers that made up paradise. He made a few turns, yanking out arrows from his body as he went, before finding the large golden double doors with a large sign hanging from the top: “INFIRMARY”. He shoved them aside, and headed towards the back. 

The infirmary was a large room, about the size of a basketball court. Mosaics decorated the walls, depicting valiant deeds and fearsome monsters sandwiched between pictures of Apollo, Hygieia, and other gods with sayings like “GET WELL SOON!”. The room was lit by candlelight, and had partition curtains dividing hospital beds. They were rarely closed, as most of the injured liked gloating about their wounds to the other patients. 

He passed heroes as he went, some of which he recognized. Perseus, slayer of Medusa, was getting his arm reattached. One of the Argonauts had a nasty gash from his shoulder down to his stomach that was getting sewn together. Asterius sat down on a way larger bed than the others near the back, constructed specifically for him as he continued to tug arrows out of his body. As comfortable as the bed was, it was placed directly opposite of a mosaic of him holding his hand up in a thumbs up position with “WE’LL GET YOU MOO-VING SOON!” written above it. 

It was incredibly tacky.

Suddenly, the double doors burst open. 

“ASTERIUS, MY GOOD FRIEND! I HAVE HEARD YOU GOT INJURED BY THAT FOUL BLACKGUARD AND I AM HERE TO LEND MY ASSISTANCE!” 

Theseus had arrived, barging down the aisle and nearly knocking into shades carrying trays of surgical instruments. “I apologize for my rudeness, dear shades!” He marched his way into the back of the room, past another pair of smaller gold doors where the supplies were, and reappeared with disinfectants, cotton pads, and gauze. “I apologize for raiding your supplies, wonderful nurses and doctors! However, my good friend-” he pointed a finger at Asterius: “requires my help immediately!” 

Everyone was now looking at the duo. “Do not fret, good bull, I shall get you patched up in no time!” Theseus turned to his friend, noticing his lack of a horn for the first time. His face widened in shock. “By the gods, your horn has been severed clean off! That foul Zagreus, I’ll get him for this! One of you shades, hurry, find the horn!” 

One of the shades scurried off to the arena (as best as one could without any legs) while two more tried to stealthily partition the bed to give the two some privacy. “Now, please, uh-I need you to uh, take off your clothing on the top half of your body for medical reasons!” 

Asterius complied, wincing as a sharp stab of pain struck him through his body while Theseus started dabbing cotton pads in disinfectants. As he started to apply the pads to the various arrow holes and grazes on his friend’s body, he began to feverishly curse the Prince of the Underworld’s name. 

“How does this feel? Does it hurt?” 

Asterius let out a grunt. “Not as bad as the last time we fought. That purple substance from his blade...well, it’s a good thing I put an end to him.” 

“ _ Damned blackguard, _ ” Theseus hissed. “Do you mind turning onto your side? There’s a few more wounds I need to dress on your back.” Asterius complied, turning onto his side for Theseus to pull out a few more arrows, flinching a little as Theseus tugged them out. “Oh no! Does it hurt too much, my dear bull? Fear not, I will expedite the healing process!” 

Theseus continued to disinfect the wounds, humming a little tune as he went. In all honesty, Asterius didn’t know much about the king. Sure, he knew about his deeds, and what he had done for the city of Athens, but not a lot of personal details. He told himself in his head, over and over, that it wouldn’t matter what Theseus’ favorite color was, what song he enjoyed hearing the musicians play the most? 

“Now, sit up please, my dear Asterius. Oh, and raise your arms up?” 

Asterius did as he was told, and Theseus began to wrap gauze over his wounds.

After battles, the two would mostly lounge in the waiting rooms, large and lavish rooms with plush couches and pretty shades offering refreshments. Theseus loved to gloat about his victories and hold long discussions with the other heroes, while Asterius hung in the back, playing foosball with whoever else was there at the time. 

“My king? I wish to have a minute with y-”

The partition curtains were flung wide open, cutting his sentence short. “King Theseus, we have the horn.” 

“Excellent, thank you very much, my good shade. Just put it at the foot of the bed, please.” Theseus finished bandaging Asterius, and picked up his horn. “Fetch me some tape, please?” 

The shade scurried towards the storage room in the back while Theseus matched the broken end of the horn to the end still firmly attached to Asterius’ head. “Now, what were you saying, my friend?” 

The shade returned with a roll of tape that Theseus used to tape the horn back. It was a little skewed, but Asterius didn’t have the heart to tell him. 

“Well, my king, I wanted to just...well…” Asterius nervously played with the bedsheets. He might have been fearless in combat, but talking was never his strong point. “Would you...be interested if we played a match of that foosball game in the lounge after our next fight?” 

Asterius braced himself, prepared for the worst. What he didn’t expect, however, was Theseus’ whole face to light up in joy. “Why, Asterius! I thought it would be terrible news! I would love to play games with you, after our next match, of course.” He gave Asterius a hearty slap on the back, which was unfortunately turned into a pincushion an hour ago, causing the bull to wince in pain. 

“Oh gods I’m sorry my dear bull! Are you fine? Should I fetch you one of those painkillers?” 

“No...I’m...I’m fine, my king. Don’t spend your energy worrying over me.” 

“No, no! I’ll fetch you some painkillers, don’t you worry about a thing! I will be right back!” 

Theseus darted out of the room, leaving Asterius alone sitting on the bed.  _ What was he thinking? Hey there, King of Athens, would you like to play a silly human game about kicking a ball?  _ Asterius almost wanted to crawl his way back into the Labyrinth. At least Theseus was kind to him. Letting a monster like him into Elysium...well, that was something you don’t see everyday. Asterius had never properly thanked him for that. After all, when Theseus had first found him, he was barely capable of human speech, and took him many,  _ many  _ months to speak. He’d have to do that sometime. Maybe after their next match with some Greek prince, he’d finally thank the king properly for all he had done. 

“Uh, excuse me, Mister Asterius?”

A shade popped his head into the room. “Uh, there’s been a s-slight change in schedule. The prince, er, Zagreus, is making his way to the Temple and, well, it’s King Theseus-and your-duty to stop him before he can escape. Please report to your stadium in the next ten minutes, thank you!” 

The shade ducked out of the curtains and let out a little “eek!” of surprise. 

“K-king Theseus! Your schedule has been changed, and well, Lord Hades’ orders, you and Mister Asterius are to report to your stadium in the next ten minutes for battle against the prince, thank you for your understanding!” 

“Well, I don’t think Asterius is battle-ready! Now, if you may step aside, I have to deliver his painkillers.” 

“Y-yes, King Theseus!” 

Footsteps pattered away as Theseus reappeared in the partitioned room. “Asterius! You probably already knew this, but I have to go off now and fight that wretched prince for you! Now, you just sit tight, if you need anything there’s the bell on the table you can ring for assistance. I’ll get you some water for the pills, and I’ll also get a shade to deliver you some snacks, alright?”

“My king, I’ll be fine. I can fight alongside you. This is nothing but a scratch.” Asterius climbed out of the bed and put on his clothes. 

Theseus sighed and scratched his blond hair. “Well, you’re quite stubborn sometimes, Asterius. If you insist, you must take these painkillers first and promise me that you shall not do that bull rush attack, alright? I fear that may be bad for your wounds.” 

“Yes, my king.” 

“Oh, and one more thing? You can refer to me by my name, my friend.” 

Asterius nodded. “Very well, my-er, Theseus.” He took the pills out of Theseus’ outstretched hand and popped them all into his mouth, swallowing them dry. 

“Now, shall we go?” Theseus ducked under the curtains, holding them apart for his companion. 

_ For you, I’d go anywhere, Theseus. _

The two stepped out of the infirmary towards their next fight. 

**Author's Note:**

> End note: is there anyone who'd also be interested in a Theseus teaches Asterius how to socialize fic?


End file.
